Apparatus for winding thin film into a roll

ABSTRACT

An air-permeable member is secured to the end of a tube carried by a pivotally-mounted guide arm, said member being positioned between the flanges of a tape reel and mechanically biased toward the reel hub as a strip of tape is wound onto the hub. The tube is connected to a source of air under pressure and the tape passes around a peripheral surface of the airpermeable member and onto hub, thereby eliminating air occlusions between the tape convolutions and resulting in a smoothly wound roll of tape.

United States Patent 1 Dusenbery 1 July 31, 1973 APPARATUS FOR WINDING THIN FILM INTO A ROLL [76] Inventor: John F. Dusenbery, 157 Christopher St., Montclair, NJ. 07042 221 Filed: Feb. 7, 1972 211 Appl. No.2 224,092

[52] US. Cl. 242/67.1, 242/55 [51] Int. Cl B65h 23/24, B65h 27/00 [58] Field of Search 242/67.l R, 55, 76

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1967 Buteux 242/55 6/1968 Young 242/671 ilnllii mlil Primary ExaminerGeorge F. Mautz Assistant ExaminerEdward B. McCarthy Attorney-Rudolph J. .lurick 57 1 ABSTRACT An air-permeable member is secured to the end of a tube carried by a pivotally-mounted guide arm, said member being positioned between the flanges of a tape reel and mechanically biased toward the reel hub as a strip of tape is wound onto the hub. The tube is connected to a source of air under pressure and the tape passes around a peripheral surface of the airpermeable member and onto hub, thereby eliminating air occlusions between the tape convolutions and resulting in a smoothly wound roll of tape.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JUL 3 1 I975 APPARATUS FOR WINDING THIN FILM INTO A ROLL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thin strips of magnetic tape, used in recordingreproducing apparatus, are formed by slitting a wide web of the material in a conventional slitting machine, the individual strips then being wound, automatically, onto the hubs of reels having flanges. A variable factor which effects the winding of the tape strips into uniformly tight rolls is the normal variations in the thickness of the web. This problem is solved by a conventional differential winding arrangement wherein the reels are mounted on a mandrel in such manner that each reel can slip relative to the mandrel independently of the other reels in correspondence with the tension of the strip being wound thereon.

Another problem, particularly associated with the winding of relatively narrow strips of tape on a reel at high speed, is the entrapment of air between the tape convolutions. This causes a weaving of the tape convolutions which results in finished rolls which do not have smooth, monoplanar sides. A further problem arises due to wobble of the reel flanges and the draw distance between the reel hub and the last guide over which the tape passes to the reel. Various arrangements have been proposed to produce smoothly wound tape rolls, one such arrangement being shown in US Pat. No. 3,387,798, issued June 11, 1968 to Roger W. Young. Although the prior arrangements include means for eliminating certain causes which otherwise would effeet the winding of a thin film into a roll, they do not provide a complete solution to the problem of winding a relatively narrow tape into a roll of substantial diameter and onto a reel having flanges.

In accordance with this invention, a strip of tape is would into a roll having smooth sides by passing the tape over a substantially frictionless surface immediately prior to the transfer of the tape onto the reel hub. The frictionless surface is provided by air escaping from an air-permeable member, which member is constructed and arranged to function as a conventional contact roller.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A tube, connected to a source of air under pressure is carried by a pivotally-mounted guide arm. An airpermeable disc, having opposed flanges secured thereto, is positionable between the flanges of a reel and is mechanically biased into engagement with the hub at a predetermined pressure determined by the setting of an adjustable weight carried by the guide arm. The tape passes over the peripheral surface of the disc as it is wound onto the reel hub and the pressure exerted upon the tape convolutions eliminates air entrapment. The flanges on the disc are spaced from the reel flanges, whereby normal wobble of the reel does not effect the tape winding operation.

An object of this invention is the provision of improved apparatus for winding a narrow, thin film into a smooth roll on a tape reel.

An object of this invention is the provision of apparatus for winding a thin film onto the hub of a reel having flanges, which apparatus includes means preventing entrapment of air between the convolutions of the film as it is being wound and means preventing an uneven winding of the tape due to normal wobble of the reel flanges. v

An object of this invention is the provision of apparatus for winding a strip of film onto the hub of a reel, in which apparatus the film passes over the surface of an air-permeable member and onto the hub, said member being connected to a source of air under pressure and applying a mechanical pressure to the film as it is being wound on the hub.

The above-stated and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the claims appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the numerals l0 and 11 identify narrow strips of magnetic tape, which strips have been formed from a wide web of the material by a conventional continuous slitting machine and pass over an idler roll 12 and a pull roll 13. Adjacently disposed strips are directed to spaced winding stations of the machine where they are wound onto reels, each set of reels being mounted on a power driven mandrel. Al-

'though not a part of this invention, the reels carried by a mandrel are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the particular reels by spacer rings arranged so that the individual reels may slip'relative to the mandrel to maintain a substantially constant tension on the strip being wound thereon. Referring to the strip 10, this strip passes around an idler roll 14 and over a guide roll 15 as it moves to the reel 16 having a hub 17 and flanges 18. An air-permeable disc 20, made of sintered stainless steel having a porosity of about it micron, is secured to a tube 21 which is secured to a guide arm 22 as by the brackets 23. The end of the tube 21 carries a coupling 24 for connecting the tube to a source of air under pressure by means of a flexible hose. Extending from the guide arm 22 is a threaded rod having a weight 25 threaded thereon, said weight being secured in a desired, fixed position by means of conventional lock nuts. The guide arm 22 is pivotally-connected to a U-shaped block 26 which is secured in fixed position on the winding machine, said guide arm being rotatable about a pivot pin 27 in correspondence with the change in diameter of the tape roll on the reel. By locking the weight 25 in a fixed position on its supporting rod, as by means of conventional lock nuts, the air-permeable disc can be mechanically biased toward the reel hub to apply a predetermined pressure to the tape as it is being wound.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tube 21 communicates with the hollow interior of the air-permeable disc 20 which has thin, metal flanges 28 secured to the sides thereof. Thus, when air under pressure is directed through the tube 21, air will escape only along the peripheral surface of the disc. The flanges 28 are spaced from the inner surfaces of the reel flanges 18 and the spacing between the flanges 28 is slightly greater than the width of the particular tape, as indicated by the letter W.

At the start of the winding operation, the end of the tape strip is attached to the reel hub, as by means of adhesive tape. Alternatively, the end of the tape is inserted through a slot provided in the hub. The reel is rotated on the mandrel, by hand, to move the first tape convolution underneath and somewhat beyond the airpermeable disc. Air under pressure is then applied to the tube 21 and the mandrel is power driven at a constant speed. During the tape winding operation, the flanges 28 prevent a side shifting of the outermost convolution due to wobble of the reel and the draw distance between the reel and the guide roll 15. At the same time, the air-permeable disc applies a predetermined down pressure on the tape to eliminate entrapped air which not only causes a lateral shifting of such convolution but, also, causes wearing of the tape as it is wound at high speeds. Further, the air escaping from the peripheral surface of the disc creates an air-bearing surface with a minimum coefticent of friction thereby eliminating excessive tape-tension problems and tape wear.

While the winding apparatus has been described with reference to the winding of a strip of magnetized tape on a conventional tape reel having flanges, it will be apparent that the apparatus can also be used for the winding of other, thin films. Also, the apparatus is useful for winding magnetic tape into a roll for use on a three piece reel. in this case, the tape is wound on a core which is supported on a winding mandrel by a slip clutch. The reel flanges are molded in two pieces, each piece having a hub portion substantially equal to the inner diameter of the core. The wound roll of tape is removed from the clutch and the hub portions of the reel flanges are inserted into the core and permanently secured thereto by means of a suitable cement.

Having now described the invention what I desire to protect by letters patent is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

LApparatus for winding a thin strip of material on a core carried by a rotatable mandrel, which apparatus comprises,

a. a guide arm mounted for pivotal movement in the plane of the core,

b. a tubular member secured to the guide arm and connectable to a source of air under pressure, an end portion of the tubular member extending from the guide arm,

c. an air-permeable member having an arcuate peripheral surface and secured to the said end portion of the tubular member, said air-permeable member having a hollow interior communicating with the interior of the tubular member,

d. a pair of flange members secured to the airpermeable member, said flange members being made of non air-permeable material and spanning the said strip of material, and

e. means biasing said air-permeable member toward the said core to apply a predetermined pressure on the said strip of material as it is being wound.

2. Apparatus for winding a strip of magnetic tape on the hub of a reel having side flanges, said apparatus comprising,

a. a pivotally-mounted guide arm,

b. a tube secured to the guide arm and connectable to a source of air under pressure, an end portion of said tube extending from the guide arm and between the flanges of the reel,

c. an air-permeable member secured to the said end portion of the tube and having a hollow interior communicating with the interior of said tube,

(1. a pair of flange members secured to the airpermeable member and spanning the said strip of tape, said flange members being spaced from the inner surfaces of the reel flanges, and

e. means biasing the air-permeable member into engagement with the said strip of tape as it is being wound on the reel hub.

3. The invention as recited in claim 2, wherein said air-permeable member is a disc, and wherein the said flange members are made of a non-air-permeable material and are secured to opposite sides of the disc.

4. The invention as recited in claim 3, wherein the means biasing the disc into engagement with the strip of tape comprises an adjustable weight carried by said guide arm.

I 1 I! 4K 

1. Apparatus for winding a thin strip of material on a core carried by a rotatable mandrel, which apparatus comprises, a. a guide arm mounted for pivotal movement in the plane of the core, b. a tubular member secured to the guide arm and connectable to a source of air under pressure, an end portion of the tubular member extending from the guide arm, c. an air-permeable member having an arcuate peripheral surface and secured to the said end portion of the tubular member, said air-permeable member having a hollow interior communicating with the interior of the tubular member, d. a pair of flange members secured to the air-permeable member, said flange members being made of non air-permeable material and spanning the said strip of material, and e. means biasing said air-permeable member toward the said core to apply a predetermined pressure on the said strip of material as it is being wound.
 2. Apparatus for winding a strip of magnetic tape on the hub of a reel having side flanges, said apparatus comprising, a. a pivotally-mounted guide arm, b. a tube secured to the guide arm and connectable to a source of air under pressure, an end portion of said tube extending from the guide arm and between the flanges of the reel, c. an air-permeable member secured to the said end portion of the tube and having a hollow interior communicating with the interior of said tube, d. a pair of flange members secured to the air-permeable member and spanning the said strip of tape, said flange members being spaced from the inner surfaces of the reel flanges, and e. means biasing the air-permeable member into engagement with the said strip of tape as it is being wound on the reel hub.
 3. The invention as recited in claim 2, wherein said air-permeable member is a disc, and wherein the said flange members are made of a non-air-permeable material and are secured to opposite sides of the disc.
 4. The invention as recited in claim 3, wherein the means biasing the disc into engagement with the strip of tape comprises an adjustable weight carried by said guide arm. 